The Perfect Gentleman
by MissyMo2005
Summary: A different take on the episode where Andy is attacked in Tracy's apartment.
1. Chapter 1

"Andy?!" Sam yelled as he ran up the stairs to Tracy's apartment. He'd been on the phone to her, just a few moments ago as he was on his way over to tell her the news about Marlo, when the line had suddenly cut out. Ordinarily, he would've just assumed that the connection was bad, but there was something about the noise he'd heard just before the line went dead- a sound almost like a muffled scream- that had made his blood run cold.

Something was wrong, he could feel it in his gut, and the fact he didn't get an answer from her as he rushed up the stairs certainly wasn't helping to ease that fear.

As he reached the top of the stairs a flash of movement caught his eye near the balcony windows which were wide open. His attention was immediately diverted though as he spotted Andy lying on the floor, her hand just visible from behind the sofa.

"Shit." He cursed under his breath, rushing over to her and kneeling beside her. His hands automatically found their way to her neck, searching for a pulse. He let out a quick sigh of relief when he found one instantly. "Andy?" He shook her gently, hoping it would be enough to wake her. "Andy?"

His heart sank again as he got no response. Keeping one hand resting gently on the side of her face, he pulled his phone out of his pocket and quickly called for an ambulance. It felt like an eternity, waiting for the woman who'd answered his call to confirm that help was actually on its way. He was getting a real appreciation for what it was like to be on the other end of the call.

His next point of call was Steve. Despite the fact he knew Andy would kill him for interrupting Steve and Tracy's night, it had to be done. He had no idea what had happened, that was something Andy would hopefully be able to explain to him later, but it was Tracy's apartment and they needed to know. She could yell at him as much as she liked later and he'd be more than happy to take it if it meant that she was okay.

The conversation with Steve was thankfully short, he could tell Steve was just as shocked as he was. As he cast a quick glance around the apartment he could tell that whatever had happened Andy had certainly put up a fight- there was a smashed vase on the floor and the coffee table laid overturned on the floor with its contents scattered across the floor.

It sent a shiver up his spine as his mind went in to over drive, picturing all the potential scenarios that could've lead to this- each one worse than the last.

Thankfully, the paramedics arrived just at that moment, snapping him out of his thoughts before they had the chance to get any darker.

He answered their rapid fire questions as best as he could, watching as they checked her over and quickly strapped her on to a stretcher ready to whisk her away to the hospital.

He climbed in to the ambulance behind her, watching silently as the EMT continued to check her over as he ambulance sped through the streets of Toronto.

He suddenly realised that this must've been exactly how Andy had felt, sat in the back of the ambulance with him after he'd been shot. All the things she'd never said suddenly coming to mind- the worry that she might never get the opportunity to say them now.

Why hasn't he gone back to Nash's apartment with her?

He should've been there to protect her and he'd let her down yet again.

The feeling of relief as the ambulance came to a stop outside the hospital was overwhelming. Then came the feeling of utter uselessness as Andy was whisked away by the doctors and he was left anxiously pacing the waiting room as he waited for news.

The one thing he just kept coming back to time and time again was the fact she'd needed him and he hadn't been there to protect her.

He'd let her down again.

Only five minutes after they'd arrived at the hospital- although it felt like a lifetime- Steve and Tracy arrived.

"Sam! What happened? Is Andy okay?" Tracy fired the questions at him instantly, both her and Steve looking at him with concern.

"I... I don't know." He mumbled, sinking down on to one of the plastic waiting room chairs. "I was on my way over to see her and..." The fact he'd been going over there to tell her about Marlo suddenly hit him and it literally felt as though someone had punched him in the stomach. "I got there and the balcony doors were open, I think there was someone else there... I saw something move but the Andy was there, just laying on the floor not moving and..."

Steve placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder, while exchanging a worried glance with Tracy. "I'm going to go and call Oliver and let him know what's going on, then I'm going to go and see what I can find out about McNally. You two sit tight, I'll be back in a minute."

Tracy nodded in agreement, sitting herself down next to Sam as Steve had instructed.

She couldn't help but feel that this was somehow her fault. It had happened in her apartment, she'd given Andy the keys and asked her to stay there for the night. As guilty as she felt about it, she couldn't stop the maternal side to her from being glad that it had been Andy in her apartment and not her son- even if that did make her a terrible person.

As she looked over at Sam she could see the guilt written all over his face too. She could tell that he was doubting himself, finding ways to convince himself that he was to blame.

"She'll be fine." She said quietly, as much to herself as to Sam. "She has to be."


	2. Chapter 2

_So, first of all I'd just like to say thank you so much to all of you lovely people that have read this story and left a review. It really put a smile on my face reading them all and I'm so glad that you're enjoying it so far!_

 _To the guest who commented on the fact that Andy should be able to defend herself as a police officer- I've recently completed all my self defence training for the police, and while they do teach you a range of ways to protect yourself, if someone grabs you from behind and takes you by surprise it's difficult to get away from them- police officer or not! It's not necessarily that Andy's not capable of looking after herself, it's just that she's only human!_

 _Once again, thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy!_

When Steve returned a few moments later, Sam was still sitting in the chair motionless except the inpatient tapping of his fingers against his thighs.

"Oliver's on his way down here now. They've got forensics over at Tracy's apartment and uniforms canvassing the neighbourhood to see if anyone saw or heard anything. Detective Cappello from sex crimes is taking the lead on this. It seems to fit the pattern." Steve told them both quietly, sitting own beside tracy who leans towards him, resting her head against his shoulder.

Sam nodded in agreement, not trusting himself to speak. He could taste the blood from where he'd been biting on the inside of his lip in an attempt to remain calm. If they were sending in Cappello, then clearly they thought she'd been raped.

The thought sent a shudder up his spine.

The thought of Andy, his beautiful Andy, being held against her will and struggling to fight her way free as someone... It didn't even bear thinking about. He crossed his fingers a little tighter, hoping that any second now she was going to wake up and tell them it was all one big misunderstanding.

Somewhere in the blur of time since they had first arrived at the hospital, Oliver arrived. He didn't say anything- the look on Sam's face was enough to tell him that nothing he could possibly say would offer his friend any kind of comfort- instead he gave his shoulder a quick squeeze before sitting down on the other side of him to wait for news.

"Andrea McNally?" Sam's head snapped up at the sound of a voice in front of them and he was on his feet before anyone else even had a chance to process what the doctor was saying.

"How is she? Is she okay?" He asked, the words coming out so quickly that they all ran together.

The doctor flashed him a sympathetic smile. "There's nothing life threatening." He explained slowly. "She's had a bit of a bang to the head. There's a couple of cracked ribs, some fairly large lacerations and some heavy bruising but with plenty of rest she'll be fine."

"Oh thank god." Sam breathed in relief. "Can I see her?"

The doctor nodded. "She's sleeping though. She did regain consciousness as we were trying to examine her, but she became rather distressed so we made the decision to sedate her to calm her down. She should be awake again within a few hours. Her room is just down there to the left."

"Thank you." Sam said quickly as the doctor turned to walk away, he took a step after the doctor, wanting to see Andy and make sure that she really was okay, but then suddenly paused and looked back at his friends who were still seated in the waiting area.

"Go!" Oliver ordered, waving a hand at him. "We'll wait right here. I'm going to go and call Cappello and update her. Let us know if you need anything okay?"

Sam nodded, already walking away from them. Even though the doctor had told him that she'd be fine he needed to see it with his own eyes before he could truly believe it.

He felt himself relax slightly as he walked in to her room. The steady beep of the monitors and her deep breaths having a calming effect on him. He could see a shadow of a bruise beginning to form around her left eye and another across her right cheek. He forced himself to look away from the bruises that were coming up on her arms- each one a clearly discernible hand print. Instead he chose to focus on her face, because if he made himself ignore the bruising she looked as though she was just sleeping peacefully. He didn't even want to consider the alternative that her drug endured sleep might not be as peaceful and nightmare free as it appeared from the outside.

He reached out and gently took her hand in to his own, bringing it up to his mouth and placing a gentle kiss on the back of it.

"I'm sorry Andy, I'm so sorry." He whispered, hoping for just a second that she'd open her eyes and start trying to convince him that she was fine.

Instead, she remained motionless- the only sounds in the room her quiet breathing and the steady beeping of the monitors.

His mind wandered to the ring box that was currently sat in his sock drawer, hidden right at the back so Andy wouldn't find it the next time she decided to steal a pair of his socks because she'd forgotten to do her laundry.

The weekend he'd planned for the two of them at Oliver's cabin seemed a million miles away in that moment, and he couldn't help but wonder if he'd ever actually get to find out if the ring he'd chosen would fit her finger.

From looking at her injuries he was fairly sure that Cappello was right, as much as he'd been hoping she wouldn't be. It was the same guy. And something like that... Even Andy couldn't bounce back from that over night.

A small voice in his head reminded him that she might never be the same again.


	3. Chapter 3

Sam had been half asleep himself when Andy eventually started to wake up in the early hours of the morning. The thing that had woken him from his uncomfortable sleep in the chair beside her bed was her voice.

"No... Please.. Stop... Get off me... No.." She mumbled, a deep frown etched on to her forehead.

"Andy." Sam said quietly, squeezing her hand. "Andy, wake up. You're in the hospital. It's okay."

"No... Please no..." The fear and desperation in her voice broke his heart.

"Andy!" He tried a little harder, putting his hand on her shoulder and shaking her gently. "Wake up!"

This time her eyes flew open and she looked up at him with an expression that could only be described as pure terror. Sam quickly removed his hand from her shoulder.

"It's okay." He said as soothingly as he could manage in that moment. "You're in the hospital now. You're safe Andy, it's all going to be okay."

She didn't answer him, instead she stared straight at the wall ahead of her. Anything to avoid looking at him and seeing that look of pity in his eyes. Her heart was pounding in her chest as she took deep breaths to try to calm herself down.

She'd been convinced it was real. It had felt as though she was lying on the floor of Tracy's apartment, her hands pinned above her head and his hot breath against her neck.

Even the thought of it sent a shiver up her spine.

Eventually, she allowed herself to relax back against the pillows slightly. Sam was right, although she might not feel it, she was safe. Sam would never let anyone hurt her.

"Can you remember what happened?" He asked gently after a few moments silence.

He watched as her whole body tensed up again, her knuckles turning white as she gripped the bed sheets.

She shook her head quickly.

"Nothing at all?" He queried. He glanced back down at her hands again. He wanted nothing more than to reach over and loosen off her grip on the sheets, to hold her hand in his and tell her that everything was going to be okay. As much as he wanted to do that, he forced himself to keep his hands rested in his lap so he didn't frighten her.

She shook her head again.

"What's the last thing you can remember about yesterday?" He asked deciding to try a different tactic in the hope of getting some kind of answer from her.

"I don't know!" She snapped defensively.

She was lying through her teeth, he knew that. Whatever it was that she could remember she obviously didn't want to tell him. He didn't want to push too far, but he was also conscious of the fact that they were going to have to talk about it at some point. Whatever had happened, she couldn't keep it bottled up inside forever.

They both turned to look at there was a knock at the door, Oliver peering hesitantly around the door. "Sorry to interrupt guys but Detective Cappello is here."

Sam watched as another look of fear flashed across Andy's face.

"Can't she wait?" Sam asked Oliver.

He shook his head. "She's pretty insistent that it has to be now."

Sam was just about to tell Oliver to send her in when the door swung further open and Detective Cappello marched in to the room.

"Swarek, why don't you and Shaw go and get a coffee?" She said, stopping at the foot of the bed.

Sam shook his head. "I'm fine where I am." He protested.

"It wasn't a request Swarek." She replied, the glare she gave him made it quite clear he wasn't going to win this argument.

"Come on Sammy." Oliver said from the doorway. "Let's give these ladies some space for a little while."

Sam looked from Oliver, to Andy and then at the Detective stood at the end of the bed.

"Go on Sam, please." Andy said quietly, "I'll be fine."

He looked at hesitantly again, unwilling to leave her.

"Come on Sam." Oliver said again. "Just five minutes, let Detective Cappello do her thing."

He nodded standing up and walking towards the door. He paused, one foot out of the door to look back at the two women. "I'll grab a coffee and I'll be back in five minutes, no longer."

Detective Cappello nodded as him and the he eventually walked out of the room. She walked around the bed and sat down in the uncomfortable plastic chair that Sam had just vacated. Pulling her notebook and a pen out she looked at Andy.

"He's worried about you." She said to Andy, who was shifting uncomfortably in the bed as she attempted to sit herself upright.

Andy shrugged. "He worries too much." She mumbled.

"It must have been scary for him, finding you like that. I've seen Detective Nash's apartment- it's a mess."

Andy nodded, staring at the blanket on the bed as she picked at a loose thread- anything to avoid having to look the other woman in the eye.

"I know this is difficult Andy, but we need your help to catch this guy. You know how this works." Cappello said after a few moments silence. "Did you get a good look at him?"

Andy shook her head. "He was wearing a mask... He came up behind me. I didn't see him."

Cappello nodded, jotting something down in her notebook before looking back up at Andy. "And you're dating Swarek? Is that right?"

Andy nodded again, slightly thrown by the change of direction the questions had taken.

"Anyone else I should know about?"

"Excuse me?" Andy asked, looking up at the other woman.

"It's not illegal to play the field a little McNally. It would certainly be a motive for someone if they'd found out."

"No." Andy shook her head quickly, despite the fact it was aggravating her headache. "No, it's just Sam."

Cappello looked at her for a moment, then nodded. Making some more notes.

"You've already said that you didn't get a good look at him. Did he say or do anything that might help us identify him?"

"He...he um.." Andy mumbled, looking back down at her hands. "When he heard Sam coming he said he was looking forward to seeing me again just before he ran off."

Cappello nodded, working on keeping her facial expression neutral as she continued making her notes, despite the fact her skin was crawling from what McNally had just told her.

"Can you talk me through what happened?" She asked. "I know it's difficult but anything you can tell us will help."

"I um... I can't remember anything." She mumbled in response. "I just remember being grabbed and then hearing Sam shouting."

Detective Cappello sighed. "You can't remember or you don't want to?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

That was a question that Andy really couldn't answer.


	4. Chapter 4

"Sam, you need to calm down and let Cappello do her job." Oliver said to his friend, watching as he continued to pace back and forth across the waiting room.

"She should be out there trying to find whoever did this to Andy rather than interrogating her as though she's the criminal!" Sam snapped, turning around to face Oliver.

"Sam." There was a clear warning in the tone of Oliver's voice. "I know it's hard, and if it was Izzy or Celery in there I'd be doing exactly the same thing as you, but she needs you to be there for her, not out there. Half the cops in the city are out there doing that Sam. You need to pull yourself together and be there for her."

Sam nodded slowly, running a hand through his hair. Oliver was right, he needed to be there for Andy, but another part of him wanted to be out on the streets making sure that the person who did this was behind bars. "I should've been there." He said, shaking his head. "I should've been there to protect her, and instead I was with Marlo if all people..."

"Marlo? Oh god Sam, please tell me you didn't..."

Sam shook his head quickly. "No, no! It wasn't like that." He corrected Oliver quickly. "She um... She said she needed to talk to me and I um... I thought maybe she was off her meds... But she's.. She's pregnant... I was on my way over to tell Andy."

Oliver was stunned in to silence for a few moments. In any other situation he probably would've laughed at just how ridiculous the whole situation seemed.

He was relieved when Detective Cappello appeared at the entrance to the waiting room, saving him from having to respond to what Sam had just told him.

"Have you finished?" Sam asked bluntly, looking at the woman.

"For now." She nodded. "I'll be back to talk to her again at some point. She's too upset to remember everything right now, she didn't really give us all that much to go on."

Sam didn't answer her, instead he disappeared off down the hall at the mention of Andy being upset. He knew he never should've left her alone with Cappello.

As he opened the door to her room Andy nearly jumped out of her skin.

"Sorry, sorry." He said quickly, holding up his hands. "I didn't mean to frighten you."

She shook her head. "It's okay." She mumbled, wiping at the corner of her eyes in a failed attempt to hide the fact she'd been crying.

"You're allowed to cry y'know." He told her softly, perching on the edge of the bed. He wanted nothing more than to reach out and pull her in to his arms but he couldn't decide if that would just make things even worse.

Andy bit her lip, feeling her eyes fill with tears again. "I should've been able to fight him off! I'm a god damn cop and I opened up the balcony doors do he could just walk right in and attack me! How could I be so stupid?!"

"Hey." He tentatively reached out and out a hand on her arm. Initially she tensed up under his touch, and for a moment he thought she was going to pull away, before she relaxed again. "You might be a cop Andy but you're only human. It could've happened to anyone. He attacked you from behind and took you by surprise. There's no way you could've fought him off."

"I shouldn't have had the balcony doors open in the first place!" She argued. "I let him walk right in, I might as well have invited him in."

"Andy, look at me. This is not your fault." He reached out to wipe another stray tear from her cheek, and as he did so she leant forward and buried her head in his shoulder as the sobs she'd been desperately trying to hold back finally escaped.

"It's okay, it's going to be okay." He whispered soothingly as he held her. "It's all going to be okay."

"I'm sorry." The words were almost impossible to make out between her uncontrollable sobs.

"You've got nothing to apologise for Andy, absolutely nothing. None of this is your fault."

He held her as her frantic sobs eventually began to quieten down.

"Come on, you need to get some rest." He said, shifting so that she was laying back against the pillows and he was sitting beside her.

"I want go to home." She said wearily.

"I know. Soon." He promised, reaching up to push her hair back out of her face. As he did so he revealed another bruise that was beginning to form just below her hair line and it made his stomach churn slightly.

"Tomorrow?" She asked, her words slurring tiger slightly as her eyes drooped closed.

"Maybe tomorrow." He agreed.

When she didn't answer him he knew she'd finally fallen asleep. He stayed exactly where he was for a few minutes, frightened that if he moved even an inch she'd wake up. When he saw Steve and Tracy standing outside the window he reluctantly got up, careful not to disturb her.

"How's she holding up?" Steve asked as Sam closed the door silently behind him.

"She thinks it's her fault, that she should've been able to fight him off. You know what she's like, blames herself for everything." Sam sighed,leaning against the wall as his exhaustion finally began to catch up with him.

"She's too hard on herself." Tracy agreed. "How are you doing?"

"I'm fine." Sam answered automatically, causing both Steve and Tracy to raise an eyebrow at him.

"No offence Sam, but I've seen corpses that have looked better than you." Steve commented.

"Thanks Peck." Sam muttered in response. "Have you heard anything from Cappello?"

"She was working on a warrant last time I spoke to her. Some guy sex crimes has had their eye on for a while I think." Tracy answered.

Sam nodded. "Will you let me know if they get him? I want five minutes with him."

"Sam.." Tracy warned, hearing the threatening tone to his voice.

"Don't start on me Nash. Peck would be exactly the same if it had been you in that apartment." Sam said as Steve nodded in agreement.

"Go and get some rest Sam, we'll keep you posted." Tracy sighed, knowing it was an argument that she'd never win. "I'll come back and see her tomorrow... Or rather later today."

Sam nodded. "Thanks Nash." He said, glancing through the window behind him who appeared to still be sleeping relatively peacefully. He just hoped that her sleep was actually as peaceful as it looked. He turned and went back in to the room to make sure he'd be there when she woke up.


	5. Chapter 5

_First of all, massive apology for the ridiculous amount of time that it's taken me to get around to writing this- training is really kicking my butt at the minute! Secondly a huge thank you to all those wonderful people out there who have taken the time to read and review this story. I don't get the time to reply to everyone, but it really does make me smile reading them all._

 _Thanks again!_

"Hey Andy." Tracy said softly as she stepped inside the hospital room early the next morning. After much persuasion Steve and her had managed to pry Sam away from her bedside long enough to take a shower and change his clothes. Now she finally had the opportunity to ask her friend how she was in person. She couldn't help but feel guilty about the fact Andy had been attacked in her apartment. She wouldn't have even been there if Tracy hadn't asked her too.

"Hey." Andy mumbled, shifting uncomfortably in the bed.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." Tracy apologised, sitting down in the chair beside the bed, where Sam had spent the majority of the night.

"It's okay." Andy told her, not wanting to admit that she'd only been pretending to sleep so that Sam would stop asking her if she was okay.

"How are you holding up?" Tracy asked, wondering if she was actually going to get an honest answer out of Andy. "And don't just tell me that you're fine!"

Andy half smiled. "I'm okay. I just keep thinking about what might have happened if Sam hadn't turned up when he did." She admitted. This was something she hadn't told Sam, knowing all too well that he would be torturing himself for not getting there quicker, even though there was nothing more he could've done. She didn't need to add to his pain.

Tracy looked at her sympathetically, and Andy could see her trying to find a way to word the question that she so desperately wanted to ask. "Did he... Uh... Did he rape you Andy?" Tracy asked softly in the end.

Andy shook her head, her eyes filling with tears. It had been easier, talking to Detective Cappello, as though she'd some how managed to detach herself from the situation. But now, talking to Tracy, she was finding it much more difficult to keep her emotions in check.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to upset you." Tracy said, passing her a tissue. "I'm so sorry I put you in that situation. If it wasn't for me then you wouldn't gave even been there!"

"Trace." Andy said shakily, taking a couple of deep breaths to try to calm herself down. "Don't try and blame yourself for this. You asked me to go over to your place, you had no idea this was going to happen. It's not your fault."

"If there's anything I can do Andy, and I mean anything..." Tracy said.

Andy smiled again, much more genuinely this time. "You managed to get Sam to get out of that chair and take a shower. I think that's a pretty big achievement."

Tracy laughed. "I did think for a second Steve was going to have to fight him to get him to move. He's a pain in the ass Swarek."

Andy laughed. "That's certainly one way to describe him."

"You guys are good though?" Tracy asked. "After Marlo and everything?"

Andy nodded. "Yeah, things finally seemed like they were going well for a change. Up until this anyway."

Tracy smiled sympathetically.

"Well, you know what they say. Bad news comes in threes." Andy attempted to joke, but her tone was flat. "I can't wait to find out what's coming next."

"That's rubbish Andy, you know that. Nothing else is going to happen to you."

"He um... He said he was looking forward to seeing me again... Just before he left." Andy whispered, the words sending a shiver up her spine.

"Did you tell Cappello?" Tracy asked, what Andy had just told her sinking in.

Andy nodded. "I um.. I haven't told Sam though."

"Andy you need to tell him!" Tracy argued. "You can't keep something like this from him."

"No!" Andy shot back. "Please Trace, you know what he'll do! Please.. We were so happy before this."

"Andy, you need to talk to him. He's going to find out eventually. It's much better if its from you."

Andy shook her head. "What he doesn't know won't hurt him. Please Trace."

"Andy, whoever did this is still out there!" Tracy protested. "He needs to know!"

Andy shook her head. "No Tracy, I'm not telling him."

Tracy sighed, knowing this wasn't an argument that she was going to win. Before she could argue any further the door opened and Sam walked in, closely followed by Steve.

"Sorry McNally. I did try and persuade him to go and eat something too but he wasn't listening to me." Steve said, shaking his head. "How are you holding up?"

"I'm a bit sore but I'll live." Andy said, forcing a smile. "I'm sorry about ruining your night though."

"Don't be ridiculous. We're all just glad you're okay." Steve smiled as Sam and Tracy nodded in agreement.

Andy struggled to suppress a yawn as Sam sat down on the edge of the bed. The restless night she'd had was beginning to catch up with her.

"I think that's our cue to leave Trace." Steve smiled, Tracy nodded in agreement.

"I'll come back again later, okay?' She said as she followed Steve towards the door.

Andy nodded. "Thanks guys."

As the door closed behind them Sam turned to frown at her. "You look tired McNally." He commented disapprovingly.

"Right back at you Swarek." She retorted. "You sure now how to make a woman feel better about herself."

Sam rolled his eyes. "Glad to see the sarcasm is starting to return."

"You know me, I like to keep things interesting. Don't even try and pretend that you wouldn't miss this."

"Very true." He smiled. "Now get some sleep McNally." He laughed. "Then maybe you'll finally be allowed to come home with me."

"Yes sir!" Andy replied sarcastically, with another roll of her eyes.


	6. Chapter 6

"Andy!" Sam hissed in to the darkness, shaking her gently in an attempt to wake her up. "Andy, wake up!"

She woke with a start, immediately flinching away from his touch, something that he tried not to let bother him. He could practically hear her heart pounding in here chest, her breathing laboured as he reached over to turn on the light.

"It was just a dream." She mumbled, and he wasn't sure if she was talking to him or to herself.

He propped himself up in the bed, watching her carefully out of the corner of his eye. She was a mess. There was no denying that. In the three days that had passed since she had come home from the hospital she had barely slept, eaten or said a word to him. This wasn't the first time he'd woken in the middle of the night to the sound of her screaming either.

"Talk to me Andy, please." He pleaded, turning to look at her. "Don't shut me out."

Andy remained silent, drawing her knees up to her chin and hugging them tightly as though she could somehow hold herself together.

"What are the nightmares about?" He questioned when she still didn't answer him.

"You know what they're about Sam." She sighed, leaning back against the headboard. She was exhausted, to the point where she could probably fall asleep standing up. But the problem was that every time she closed her eyes it was as though he was there again- she could practically feel his hands on her skin- so she was too scared to close her eyes.

"I can guess Andy, but that's not the point."

"What is the point Sam?" Andy snapped, turning to him angrily. "What is the point in any of this? If you figure it out then please do let me know because as far as I'm concerned we are all just sitting around waiting for him to come back and try again!"

He was relived, in a weird way, at her sudden outburst of anger. It was the first time he'd actually seen any kind of emotion from her. He could take being yelled at as long as it meant she was actually saying something.

"Cappello is out there looking for him, Andy." He said, trying to sound reassuring. Although if he was honest he was beginning to doubt the woman's ability to find the man who'd done this to Andy. "They're going to find him."

"How can you be so sure of that?" She asked, her voice a little calmer than before. "He's done this to other women before me and they didn't catch him then! What makes you so sure that they're going to get him this time?"

Sam took a deep breath, reaching out to place his hand over hers which were trembling slightly. She cringed away before she could even think about it and he tried unsuccessfully to mask the look of hurt on his face as he returned his hands to his lap.

"Because, the only way I can cope with this is to believe that one day he's going to get what he deserves and I'll be there in court watching him to go prison for what he's done to you." He told her wearily. If he was honest, he wasn't sure that a prison sentence was really the best form of justice. What he'd give to have five minutes alone in a room with the person who'd done this.

"And if they don't?" She asked, her voice a timid whisper. "I can't live the rest of my life looking over my shoulder Sam, just waiting for him to come back for another go."

"He's not going to hurt you again Andy, I promise you." He promised, slowly extending his hand towards her once again.

This time she didn't flinch away from him, although he did see her visibly tense. Her breath hitched in her throat as she struggled to suppress a sob.

"It's okay." He said soothingly, closing the distance between them and pulling her in to his arms. "I won't let anyone hurt you, you know that."

"There's something I haven't told you." She mumbled, her words muffled against his skin. Tracy was right, she couldn't keep this from him, even if she was only doing it to protect him.

"Andy?" He prompted when she didn't elaborate after a few moments.

"That night at Tracy's apartment, just before he ran off... He um... He said he was looking forward to seeing me again."

She felt him tense, holding his breath for a moment before he exhaled loudly.

"Please don't be angry... I didn't want you to worry." She added quickly.

"I'm not angry." He sighed after a brief pause. "I'm just trying to understand why you didn't tell me this before. Is that what the nightmares are about?"

She nodded in response. "I didn't want you to worry. I thought Cappello would find him and then we wouldn't have to worry..."

"You still should've told me." He sighed. "I take it you told Cappello?"

Andy nodded again. "She didn't seem that surprised. Have you heard anything from her?"

"No." Sam admitted. "I'll give her a call in the morning- or rather later today- and see how she's getting on... Now, you really need to get to sleep."

She could feel the anxiety rising in her stomach at the thought of going back to sleep.

"I'll be right here, nothing's going to happen to you. I promise." Sam reassured her, clearly picking up on it.

She nodded reluctantly and laid herself back down, resting her head against his chest. He was right, she was safe there with him- shed trust him with her life- she just wished that he could protect her from what was inside her head too.


End file.
